Improvement in hydraulic hoisting apparatus



J. R. BITTER.

Hydraulic Hoisting Apparatus.

Patsnted Nov. 19; 1872.

fj ei AM. FHOFOUTHUGRAFHIL COJviX/DSEUHNES Moms JACOB It. BITTER, OF READING, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN HYDRAULIC HOISTING APPARATUS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 133,256, dated November 19, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JACOB R. BITTER, of Reading, Berks county, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Hydraulic Hoisting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification:

The objects of my invention are to obtain a smooth and uniform movement of the platforms of hoisting apparatus, and to store up the power employed so as to enable the apparatus to be operated at any time. Further objects of my invention are to render that portion of the apparatus which relates to the accumulation of the power automatic in its operation, and to enable two or more hoists to be operated either simultaneously or independently by the same motive power.

The first of these objects is attained by the use of the parts shown in Figure 1, which represents a sectional diagram of what may be considered the most important features of my invention. Two cylinders, A and B, are connected at the bottom by a pipe, D, in which is a three-Way cook, at, opening or closing communication with a discharge-pipe, E. A water-inlet pipe, F, also communicates with the bottom of the cylinder A, by pumping water, through which the said cylinder is gradually filled, and its piston 11 raised to the top, a weight, G, at the upper end of the piston-rod being correspondingly elevated. When the three-way cook a is turned to the position shown in Fig. 1, so as to open communication between the cylinders, the power of this weight is exerted through the columns of water in the two cylinders upon the piston d of the cylinder B, which is elevated, and correspondingly elevates any suitable hoistin g-platform H through the medium of a rope or chain, c. The latter is not secured directly to the pist0n-rod of the cylinderB, but passes around a pulley, f, hung to the upper end of the same, and is then secured to the cylinder-head or other fixed ob ject.

When the hoisting-platform is to be lowered the three-way cock at is turned one-quarter way round in the direction of the arrow, in order to permit the discharge of the water from the cylinder B through the pipe E. This discharge is facilitated by the weight of the hoist and piston d with its appliances, both of which gradually descend as the water is emptied from the cylinder B. Either the downward or upward movement of the hoist can be instantly arrested by simply turning the cook a to such a position as to prevent the discharge of water from or its admission into the cylinder B. The hoist can be operated at the same .time that water is being pumped into the cylinder A through the pipe F, and this would, to a certain extent, retard the descent of the weight G, and enable the hoist to be raised and lowered nearly continuously when such rapid operation was necessary; but in such case the movement of the hoist would be slight- 1y irregular, and a vibration would be felt at every stroke of the pump. When the pump is stopped, however, and the hoist is operated by the descending weight alone, its movement will be smooth and uniform, and absolutely free from jerks; whereas in ordinary hydraulic hoists which are operated directly by water 7 forced into a cylinder by a pump, and acting upon a piston, the jerking is continuous, and the wear and tear of the parts caused thereby excessive.

Besides producin g uniformity of motion, several other advantages are attained by the use of the weight, among which may be mentioned a quicker movement of the hoist than when operated directly by a pump, for the weight can be raised gradually by the latter, but can be causedto descend quickly when released. Another advantage is that power sufficient to operate the hoist several times can be stored up, by simply elevating the weight, for use at a time when it may not be convenient to operate the pump.

It will be understood that the number of times the hoist can be operated by one descent of the weight will depend upon the relative capacities of the two cylinders A and B.

Fig. 2 of the drawing illustrates a complete compound apparatus such as I have had in practical operation at my factory for several months past, and in which all of the abovedescribed features are embodied.

A small steam-pump, I, employed for feeding a boiler, is also used for the operation of the hoisting apparatus. With this pump com; municates a steam-pipe, 9, having two diverging and converging branches, g and g an the said pump draws its supply of wate either through a pipe, h, or through a pipe h, from a tank, J, into which the dischargepipe E empties. The'water is forced direct- 1y from the pump, through the pipe F, to the pipe is opened in order to insure the passage of steam to the pump, for the other branch 9 of the said pipe is only opened at intervals by turning a cock, j, when it is desired to operate the pump for the purpose of elevating the weight G of the hoisting apparatus. The cock j is controlled automatically by the hoisting apparatus in such a manner as to insure the operation of the pump for the purpose of elevating the weight Gr when the latter has descended to its lowest point, and so as to stop the said pump when the weight has reached the limit of its upward movement. This automatic operation of the cock j is effected by means of a projection or projections, k, on the weight and on the endless rope or chain Z, which passes around a pulley on-the cock-spindle, and extends upward to the top of the frame of the hoisting apparatus, where itis'passed around other pulleys. The projection 7c of the weight strikes a projection, and draws the rope sufficiently to open the cock, and thus start the pump when the weight reaches the limit of its downward movement; and the same or another projection strikes and draws the rope in a contrary direction and thus closes the cock and stops the pump when the weight has reached the limit of its upward movement.

other devices for automatically operating the cock through the medium of the ascending and descending Weight and an endless rope or chain may be employed without departing from my invention. The three-way cook a, for starting and stopping the hoist H, has also apulley at the extremity of its spindle, arranged to be turned for the purpose of operating the cock by an endless cord or chain, a, which extends upward through the hatchway or framing in which the hoist slides, so as to enable the latter, by simply pulling the said cord, to be stopped or started at any point. This cock may also be automatically turned on and off by projections on the hoisting-platform, arranged to strike corresponding projections on the endless cord m when the said hoist has reached the limit of its movement in either direction.

The cylinder A may be combined with two or more cylinders, B, in a buildingin which several hoists are required; and these supplementary cylinders may, if necessary, be removed several hundred feet from the cylinder A, as water under pressure can be conveyed to the same through pipes placed either under or above ground.

The manner of operating a single hoist from the supplementary cylinder B is precisely the same as with cylinder B, and will not, therefore, require description.

I claim as my invention- 1. An hydraulic hoist, in which the power of a descending weight, acting upon a column or columns of water, is utilized for the elevation of said hoist, substantially as herein described.

2. The combination of the cylinder A, its weight G, and piston with a cylinder, B, whose piston is connected directly to and communicates its movement to a hoist.

3. The combination, substantially as described, of the cylinder A, its weight G and piston, with awater-supply pipe, F, communicating with a pump.

4. The combination, substantially as described, of a three-way cock with the cylinders A and B, their connecting-pipe D, and the discharge-pipe E.

5. The combination of a single cylinder, A,

and weight with two or more cylinders, B, for

operating separate hoists.

6. The combinationof the weight G and pump I and the devices described, or their equivalents, for automatically starting and stopping the pump through the medium of an endless cord or chain, 1, controlling the valve in the steam-pipe of the said pump.

7. The combination, with the operating-cylinder, of the pump I and reservoir J, connected and operating as set forth.

8. The combination, with the pump I and cylinder A, of the branched pipe G and its cocks and the pipes F F and cock 2', all as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

\ J. R. BITTER.

Witnesses:

WILLIAM P. BARD, WASHINGTON Rrcnanns. 

